Moscow-based artist Slava Fokk paints flat, exaggerated figures that evoke vintage advertisements and Art Nouveau alike. His work is imbued with burgundy, teal, and beige color schemes that give it a retro feel. Female characters populate his stylized world. Fokk zeroes in on select details like the contours of the cheek bones and eyelids while making the hair and body abstract. His sleek brushwork gives his characters an otherworldly appearance.
Moscow-based artist Slava Fokk paints flat, exaggerated figures that evoke vintage advertisements and Art Nouveau alike. His work is imbued with burgundy, teal, and beige color schemes that give it a retro feel. Female characters populate his stylized world. Fokk zeroes in on select details like the contours of the cheek bones and eyelids while making the hair and body abstract. His sleek brushwork gives his characters an otherworldly appearance.
Whether it’s her massive work “Catsquatch” or her "Mirror Constructs" series, painter Shyama Golden’s work is both experimental and at times, humorous. The artist has both fine art and illustration practices. Yet, even within her gallery work are varying approaches, ranging from the mythological to portraiture.
Ukraine-born, Paris-based artist Nikolay Tolmachev crafts provocative watercolor paintings showcasing a knack for elegance and wry humor. The artist's practice also delves in illustration, recently providing work for a release of the classic narrative poem "Kateryna" by Taras Shevchenko.
French artist Eric Roux-Fontaine's whimsical paintings explore the enchanted worlds we tend to encounter only in our dreams. His images are layered with delicate, detailed brushwork and an abundant use of color to create scenes where figures move freely across moonscapes, structures are overtaken by lush wildlife, and tightrope walkers tower above forest grounds. The artist mixes realistic and surreal elements to forge a deep connection between our everyday world and that which is created from our fantasies.
Yellena James explores a wildly flourishing imaginary ecosystem in her solo show "Radiance," opening at LeQuiVive Gallery in Oakland on January 10. While paintings of flowers are traditionally on the tame side, James's work is far-removed from your average still life. Her flat, stylized flora explodes from every corner of each piece. The brightly colored, biomorphic shapes are ambiguous and suggestive, sometimes even overwhelmingly energetic. James draws and paints them in combinations of acrylic, marker, and ink, inviting a playful dance of various textures. "Radiance" will include a site-specific mural at the gallery, as well.
